Do I need to eat my calories burned during exercise?

Carrie28Lee

I noticed people log and eat back calories burned during exercise. Why is that? Do I eat back all calories or a portion? Any knowledge is highly appreciated.

lorrpb

You need to eat back some or all of your exercise calories to fuel your increased activity. This will keep you at the same deficit, such as 500 calories per day. The reason many people eat back only some, rather than all, of the exercise calories is because estimates of calorie burn on the MFP database and most exercise equipment are overstated.

TavistockToad

Carrie28Lee wrote: »

I noticed people log and eat back calories burned during exercise. Why is that? Do I eat back all calories or a portion? Any knowledge is highly appreciated.

Yes, if you follow MFP figures.

kjauthier

I think if you want to lose weight faster then don't eat back calories burned. That being said you put yourself in a starvation mode and the body will actually conserve calories and thus harder to burn off. Furthermore if you don't fuel properly this leads to low quality workouts and hamper metabolism. I think eating these exercise calories back will slow weight loss and prevent this as long as the calorie deficit is low ie 500 cal/day x 7 days =3500 cals or 1 pound/week. Slow and steady wins the race!

NorthCascades

People lose weight without exercise. You burn plenty of calories just being alive and getting around. Since your calorie goal already has a deficit built in, when you exercise a lot, not eating can create too big a deficit and have all kinds of consequence, from athletic performance to health like hair and muscle loss.

musicfan68

kjauthier wrote: »

I think if you want to lose weight faster then don't eat back calories burned. That being said you put yourself in a starvation mode and the body will actually conserve calories and thus harder to burn off. Furthermore if you don't fuel properly this leads to low quality workouts and hamper metabolism. I think eating these exercise calories back will slow weight loss and prevent this as long as the calorie deficit is low ie 500 cal/day x 7 days =3500 cals or 1 pound/week. Slow and steady wins the race!

Yeah, not really. No such thing as starvation mode as you state it, and you should be eating back at least 50% of exercise calories, as most exercise calories are inflated. You do need to fuel your workouts by eating enough calories, while staying at a healthy deficit.

malibu927

They eat them back because that's how MFP is set up. http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10503681/exercise-calories-do-i-eat-these-a-video-explanation

cmriverside

I always have eaten all of them.

I lost 70 pounds in 2007-08.

I've kept it off for ten years.

Log your food and exercise. Keep good records. Do that for a couple months and see how it goes. If you have a lot of weight to lose, either way will work right now, in the beginning. Just beware of hunger, fatigue, irritability, hair loss, dry skin and nails, depression, anxiety, inability to focus, coldness, sleep issues. Those would be some indications you are not eating enough.

seekingdaintiness

No, almost everyone overestimates their calories burned during exercise and hen just either doesn't lose or gains more weight, like they walk and burn off 100 calories, estimate they burned off 200, and eat a piece of cake for 300. Even the MFP dietician (if you look it up) does not recommend you do this. I have no idea where this ridiculous idea has come from.

cmriverside

seekingdaintiness wrote: »

No, almost everyone overestimates their calories burned during exercise and hen just either doesn't lose or gains more weight, like they walk and burn off 100 calories, estimate they burned off 200, and eat a piece of cake for 300. Even the MFP dietician (if you look it up) does not recommend you do this. I have no idea where this ridiculous idea has come from.

It's the way this site is designed.

You still have a lot of weight to lose, so you can get away with a few hundred calories errors. When you get closer to your goal, you'll find you need to eat those exercise calories. Sure, at 200 pounds, it's not that big an issue.

I would guess you don't log all your food (using a food scale) either.

That will also work until it doesn't.

I started out at 215 pounds and I didn't have the best habits nor did I use any verifiable sources for food or exercise. I still lost that first 40 pounds fairly easily. I mean, how much exercise was I doing? Not thousands of calories worth, that's for sure.

So yeah, your example works for overweight people getting 200 calories of exercise a day.

When you get within 30 pounds of your goal - you'll have to become much more focused and accuracy will be a huge part of your success.

Until then, carry on. We'll be here.

For the record, it's taken you a very long time to lose the weight you've lost, perhaps open your mind a bit.

NorthCascades

@seekingdaintiness You would have an idea where this came from if you read the stuff on the screen when you signed up here.

Munchberry

I don't eat back my calories. I put in how active I was and feel that is worked into my nutrition needs. I think the burned calories seems over inflated anyway. BUT if I am hungrier on days I work my rear off, then I will not feel any remorse if I eat an extra piece of chicken or pile an extra serving of veggies. I try never to go to bed hungry. That is miserable.

Orphia

I've maintained my goal weight for 20 months and eaten back 95% of my Fitbit / Garmin exercise calories earned from running, swimming, and walking, and synced to MFP.

These sports watches are very accurate these days for those types of cardio, plus cycling.

I gather the 50-75% rule for eating exercise calories back came from treadmill or elliptical type machine exercise estimates which don't have your whole fitness profile/history factored in. Also the MFP manual entries for strength type exercise are said to be overestimated.

I've seen people enter MFP exercises such as cooking, and auto repair. I think that's overestimating!! Your daily activity level factors in this sort of thing. Even a sedentary person's.

BrianSharpe

Assuming that

1. You've got your activity level set at sedentary.
2. You are diligently and accurately logging your food
3. The estimates of calories burned are reasonably accurate

Then yes, eat back (at least a portion) of the calories expended on exercise as MFP's net calorie goals have a built in deficit.

There is a bit of trial and error involved as even the best estimates of calories burned during exercise are just estimates (some machines grossly over-estimate energy expenditure) and there is a natural tendency to underestimate how much we eat unless you're diligently weighing/measuring & logging every crumb that passes your lips . It's a matter of dialing in what works for you, if you're not losing weight over time reduce your consumption a bit but be patient, weight loss is not linear and results are not instant.

sijomial

BrianSharpe wrote: »

Assuming that

1. You've got your activity level set at sedentary correctly.
2. You are diligently and accurately logging your food
3. The estimates of calories burned are reasonably accurate

Then yes, eat back (at least a portion) of the calories expended on exercise as MFP's net calorie goals have a built in deficit.

There is a bit of trial and error involved as even the best estimates of calories burned during exercise are just estimates (some machines grossly over-estimate energy expenditure) and there is a natural tendency to underestimate how much we eat unless you're diligently weighing/measuring & logging every crumb that passes your lips . It's a matter of dialing in what works for you, if you're not losing weight over time reduce your consumption a bit but be patient, weight loss is not linear and results are not instant.

FIFY

Eating back exercise calories isn't limited to people with sedentary activity levels.
My activity level has shot up since I retired from my desk job, an extra meal or snack a day just from increased daily activity - I still need to eat back all my exercise calories.

Point 3 is important. Your exercise will dictate which method or methods you should use to estimate with reasonable accuracy. Don't just blindly follow the MFP database, it's fine for some exercise, a poor choice for other exercise.

Ann262

seekingdaintiness wrote: »

No, almost everyone overestimates their calories burned during exercise and hen just either doesn't lose or gains more weight, like they walk and burn off 100 calories, estimate they burned off 200, and eat a piece of cake for 300. Even the MFP dietician (if you look it up) does not recommend you do this. I have no idea where this ridiculous idea has come from.

If you are logging accurately, and you exercise alot, you need to take in more calories. I love the MFP helps you do that. It does depend on accurate logging. Did you really eat a 3 oz. piece of chicken or was it more like 6? Was your run really high intensity or was it really moderate?

This thing isn't going to work if you aren't accurate. It may take some time to learn. Most experts tell people to weigh and measure their food to ensure the portions are correct for calorie estimating. Hopefully, after awhile we don't need to do that all the time.

If your calorie target is 1300 and you go run 5 miles, you will need more than 1300 calories a day. Again, it all depends on accuracy.

I suppose, for people who don't feel they can track accurately, and consistently understate their calorie consumption and overstate their exercize intensity, I suppose you could not eat back your exercise calories as a safety net. Then, why bother tracking?

We aren't supposed to spend our lives walking around hungry. If you have exercise calories left and you are hungry, go eat!

kellekaj

Can i ask a side question to this....
My fitness calories show under exercise but they used to also appear on the top of the diary : calories - food + exercise = remaining but the + food doesnt show there any more. Ive gone through all setting? Is this now a premium thing? Tia

cmriverside

kellekaj wrote: »

Can i ask a side question to this....
My fitness calories show under exercise but they used to also appear on the top of the diary : calories - food + exercise = remaining but the + food doesnt show there any more. Ive gone through all setting? Is this now a premium thing? Tia

That is (at least on the web version) at the top of the screen on your "MY HOME" page.